Furnace doorframe



April 1950 H. w. WILSON 2,503,395

FURNACE DOORFRAIE Filed Nov. 29, 1945 INVENTOR. HEIPMAN W- WILSON TOENEYS Patented Apr. 11, 1950.

FURNACE DOORFRAME Herman W. Wilson, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, as-

signor to Republic Steel Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application November 29, 1945, Serial No. 631,597

This invention relates generally to the furnace art and particularly to a new door frame for open hearth furnaces.

Door frames, particularly those of open hearth 6 Claims. (Cl. 122-499) Fig. is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

The door frame shown in Figs. 1 to 5 comprises tubular side legs I and 2, a tubular sill 3 furnaces, are subjected in use to severe service 5 connected at its ends to the lower ends of legs conditions. They are exposed to high tempera- I and 2, a lintel 4 disposed between legs. I and tures from the inside of the furnace and to 2, a pipe 5 connecting sill 3 with the upper end much lower temperatures from the outside of of side leg I, and solid plates connecting lintel the furnace, and this temperature differential is 4 and pipe 5 to legs I and 2. One of these plates much greater while the door is open than when 6 is connected to the upper side of lintel 4 near it i l d, one end thereof, and to the side of the upper The expansion and contraction of the side legs portion of leg 2 thereabove. Both connections of the frame during the operation of the furmay be made by welding the plate 6 to lintel 4 nace is considerable in extent and when such and leg 2. Another plate 1 is similarly connected expansion and contraction is opposed by the to the upper ortion of lintel 4 near its oppobrick'vork or buck staves of the furnace these site end and to leg I. At its upper end plate legs may bow away from the buck staves and I is connected to the under side of pipe 5. Plate 8 leave openings thru which flames or highly is connected to the upper side of tube 5 and to heated gases may escape. Also, buckling of the the adjacent part of leg I. side legs of the frame, due to restraints imposed Leg I is provided with a vent 9 at its upper on their expansion and contraction may cause end a clean-out plug Ill at its lower end. Leg the legs to bow outwardly of the furnace and 2 is provided with a clean-out plug H near its thus prevent the door from sealing the door lower end and an outlet connection I2 at its opening against escape of flames and hot gases. upper end.

Since charging boxes are passed thru the open- A plate I3 is connected, as by welding, to pipe ing in the door frame, they frequently strike or 5 as indicated and is provided with a hole I4 bump against the side legs of the door frame thru which a lifting hook may be inserted. It and may damage the legs or loosen the brickwill be noted that hole I4 is disposed midway work around them. between legs I and 2 so that the frame will be Many efforts have been made heretofore to in balance when suspended on a hook extending provide open hearth door frames which would thru hole M. I not possess these several important disadvan- Lintel 4 is hollow and is preferably made by tages but, so far as I know, none of these efforts flattening a heavy weld metal tube, as is better has been entirely satisfactory. shown in Fig. 5. Its ends are closed by curved According to the present invention I have proplates I5 which have outer concave surfaces corvided an open hearth door frame which may be respo ding enerally to the opposed surfaces of fluid cooled and thereby maintained at a realegs I and 2. se p t are Preferably S sonably low operating temperature, which is cured in place in the lintel by weld metal I6. highly resistant to damage by impacts received Opening I'l permits access to the interior of the from the charging boxes or parts of the charge, 40 lintel for cleaning purposes. Lintel 4 has an which can expand and contract without buckling inlet connection 20 to be attached to a source of or bowing of the side legs, and which is low in cooling liquid, such as water. Between this inlet construction and maintenance costs. Door 20 and the connection of pipe 5 to lintel 4 9. frames embodying the present invention have vertical bafile 2i extends downwardly within the proven to be highly satisfactory in actual comlintel and at its lower end is connected to a horimercial use. zontally extending bafiie 22 which stops short of In the drawings accompanying and forming the end plates I5 of the lintel. Thus the baiiles a part of this specification, 2i and 22 direct liquid entering thru inlet '20 Fig. l is a front elevational view of one emalong the top of baflie 2I to one end of the lintel, bodiment of the present invention; an thence down into the lower portion of the lintel Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the door of Fig. 1; and therealong toward the outer end thereof,

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the door of up past the end of bailie 2| and into pipe 5. A Fig. 1; vent hole 23 in baffle 2I permits equalization of lig. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view pressure on opposite, sides thereof.

taken onlinmof Fig. 1; and, fitLL SinCPlFl-W hiterior of lintel 4, pipe 5, leg I,

a,sos,ees

sill 2 and leg 2 are in communication, liquid brought into the lintel thru inlet 20 may flow successively and rapidly thru these parts and out thru discharge outlet l2. In this manner the temperature of these frame parts is maintained fairly constant and sufficiently low so that excessive contraction and expansion of these frame parts is minimized.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the legs I and 2 and sill 3 constitute what may be considered as U-shaped structure which can be deflected by moving the upper ends of the legs toward or away from each other and that lintel 4, and pipe 5, may be considered as a suspended structure which is expansible and contr-actible and which is connected to the opposed sides of legs I and 2 by plates 5, l and 8. The legs of the U-shaped structure may be moved toward or away from each other to a limited extent by the expansion and contraction of the suspended structure. The end p'ates l of lintel 4 are disposed adjacent to but are not connected directly to legs i and 2. On the contrary, they are spaced far enough away from those legs so that lintel 4 may expand thruout the normally expected temperature range, in which it is desirably maintained, without exerting forces on legs 1 and 2 which would materially distort those legs. If and when the expansion or contraction of lintel 4 is unexpectedly large the upper ends of these legs may move reative to each other without resultant serious bowing or buckling of the legs.

It will also be understood that legs I and 2 may expand and contract lengthwise without substantial restriction being imposed thereon by lintel 5 and 'the other parts of the suspended structure. Thus buckling or bowing of the legs is avoided.

Frames embodying the present invention are resistant to serious damage in use. The sill 3 is preferably covered over with several inches of brickwork and hence does not come into contact with the charging boxes. Legs l and 2, consisting of heavy pipe, present only curved surfaces to the charging boxes and by being kept cool with liquid flowing rapidly therethru are strong enough to resist damage caused by impact of the boxes or their contents therewith. Preferably, these side legs are protected at least on their inner sides by the furnace brickwork and, since these legs are prevented from substantial buckling or bowing, they do not dislodge such brickwork or pull away from the adjacent buck staves .of the furnace.

The construction of the lintel is such that it is strong, and even tho the charging boxes should come into contact forcibly with it it is capable of resisting heavy impact forces received from that source. The fact that the lintel is not welded to the side legs eliminates any danger of breakage of weded joints due to impact of the charging boxes with either the side legs or the lintel, or due to relative movement of the lintel and legs.

Since it is contemplated that cooling liquid will flow rapidly thru the frame, there is little opportunity for sediment to deposit in the parts thereof but any sediment which does deposit may be readily removed by taking out plugs Ill and l I and flushing out the sediment.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the present invention provides a highly emcient, strong and durable door frame for an open hearth furnace and one which can be maintained in substantially continuous operation and is easy to construct and maintain and is comparatively inexpensive in cost of construction.

Having thus described my invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to under- 5 stand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A liquid cooled furnace door frame comprising side legs, a sill connected at its ends to the lower ends of said legs, a lintel having closed ends disposed adjacent to said side legs and a liquid inlet, a pipe connecting said lintel and one of said legs, and solid, lintel suspending means welded to the top of said lintel near its ends and welded to and supported by portions of the side legs above the lintel, said legs, sill, lintel and pipe being hollow and defining a continuous passage for cooling liquid.

2. A liquid cooled furnace door frame comprising side legs, a sill connected at its ends to the lower ends of said legs, a lintel having ends dis-V posed adjacent to said side legs, a hollow member connecting the upper mid-portion of the lintel to the upper end portion of one side leg, and-lintel suspending means. connected to the upper portions of said lintel near its ends and to portions of the side legs thereabove, said side legs, sill, lintel and hollow member defining a continuous passage for cooling liquid.

3. A liquid cooled furnace door frame comprising tubular side legs, a tubular sill connected at its ends to the lower ends of said legs, a flattened tubular lintel having ends disposed adjacent to said side legs and having a baille therewithin, a tubular connection from the lintel on one side of said baiile to one of said legs, said lintel having a liquid inlet opening on the opposite side of said batlle, the other of said legs having a liquid outlet opening at its upper end, and lintel suspending means connected to the upper portions of said lintel near its ends and to portions of the side legs thereabove, said side legs, sill, lintel and tubular connection defining a passage for flow of cooling liquid thru said frame.

4. A liquid cooled furnace door frame comprising a U-shaped structure including side legs and a sill integrally connected at its ends to the lower ends of said legs and an expansible and contractible structure suspended within the upper part of said U-shaped structure, said suspended structure including a lintel having closed ends disposed adjacent to said side legs and suspending means welded to the upper portions of said lintel near its ends and to portions of the side legs thereabove, each of said structures being capable of expansion and contraction relative to the other of said structures without causing substantial distortion of said other structure, a tube connectco ing the interiors of the lintel and one side leg,

said side legs, sill, lintel and tube defining a passage for flow of cooling liquid through said frame.

5. A liquid cooled lintel for a, furnace door frame comprising a hollow member having closures,

its ends concavely shaped to correspond to and slidably engage the convex surfaces of side frame members, said lintel having inlet and outlet openings at the upper side of said member and bailles therewithin to direct flow of liquid from said inlet-opening lengthwise along the lower portions of said lintel and upwardly to said outlet opening, and solid suspension plates connected to the upper side of said lintel near its ends and connectible to -.side frame members.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

5 v UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 864,763 Knox Aug. 2'7, 190'! 902,966 Howe Nov. 3, 1908 975,892 Robinson Nov. 15, 1910 10 1,611,819 Davison Dec. 21, 1926 

